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Federal aviation officials announced Tuesday that flight attendants will soon get more mandatory rest time between flights.
Current FAA rules state that in most cases, an airline must provide a nine-hour rest period for flight attendants after they have been on duty for 14 hours or less.
The new rule increases the rest period between shifts to 10 hours.
“Flight attendants, like all essential transportation workers, work hard every day to keep the traveling public safe, and we offer them our full support,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “This new rule will make it easier for flight attendants to do their jobs, which in turn will keep us all safer in the air.”
Flight crew unions have fought hard for change, saying flight attendants are too tired and overworked after 14-hour shifts.
A source familiar with the policy said Monday that airlines were told last week by the Federal Aviation Administration about the coming rule change.
The FAA had two public comment periods in 2019 and 2021 on the proposed regulatory change. The agency said it reviewed more than 1,000 comments.
The change was first approved by Congress in 2018 but not implemented by the Trump administration.
Last week, Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, called meeting the rules a priority ahead of his upcoming retirement.
The final rule will become effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
“It’s about time! As aviation’s first responders and last line of defense, it is vital that we are well rested and ready to perform our duties,” said the Association of Flight Attendants in a statement. CWA President Sarah Nelson said.
“Covid has only exacerbated the security gap with long duty days, short nights and combative conditions on planes,” Nelson said.
With the easing of pandemic restrictions increasing demand, 2022 has been tough for flight attendants.
Allie Malis, who is also the government affairs representative at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American Airlines’ air crews, told CNN Travel last summer About “uncomfortable” situations where the crew, delayed by incoming flights, find themselves racing through the airport to get to their next job.
Flight attendants say such conditions, along with unpredictable schedules, wreak havoc on the mental and physical health of the crew.
It is not just in the United States where flight attendants say they are being harassed.
“The sickness level has gone through the roof, the fatigue level has gone through the roof, so don’t [flight attendants are] are rejecting or they are protesting in any way. It’s just that they can’t cope – they just can’t cope with the constant changes, ”says British flight attendant Chris Major.
Top image: Passengers and flight attendants board a flight from LaGuardia Airport bound for Kansas City International Airport on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)